The present invention pertains to vanity mirror assemblies, and particularly to ones which pivot downwardly from a stored position in a vehicle roof.
Vanity mirrors, and particularly illuminated vanity mirrors, have become an increasingly popular accessory in vehicles. Many vehicles, in fact, include as standard equipment illuminated vanity mirrors in a visor such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,227,241. Other locations for the illuminated vanity mirrors have been proposed including the roof of the vehicle. U.S. Pat. No. 4,824,159 discloses a pivot down rotatable illuminated vanity mirror, which can be mounted to the roof of a vehicle, for use by either front or rear seat passengers. Due to the somewhat heavy weight of the illuminated vanity mirror packages, such as disclosed in the above 4,824,159 patent, it is necessary to provide a pivot control mechanism which allows for the controlled movement of the assembly from a stored position to a lower adjusted use position. Such control mechanism may take the form, as disclosed in the above identified patent, of a pair of generally U-shaped torque fittings which are separately mounted to the housing and engage pivot rods mounted to the vehicle. Although such mechanism provides smooth operation and control of the illuminated vanity mirror, the additional cost of the torque fittings, as well as the assembly of the fittings, adds to the overall cost of the vanity mirror assembly.